The HAIR awards
by Fanatic Drone N
Summary: Dib is invited offplanet for a prestigous awards ceremony, but Zim follows, with his own suspicions.
1. Chapter 1

"Dib, go get the mail."

Dib looked up from his edition of _Crop Circles Magazine_. Gaz was sitting in the armchair a few feet away from him, apparently engrossed in her game, though not so much that she had missed the creak of the mail slot.

He stood up and stretched. He had been comfortable sitting on the couch, but he didn't try to argue with his sister.

As he walked to the door, he noticed that the mail had come two hours early. There was only a package, addressed to him, which, oddly enough, was to big to have been pushed through the mail slot.

He picked it up, surprised. He hadn't ordered anything that wasn't due for a few weeks. While he opened it in the kitchen, he tried to remember if there were anyone who would send something to him. It was probably just a trick from Zim, which meant it couldn't be _too _dangerous. Probably another flatulent-pygmy-moose…

Inside was a letter, resting on top of a metallic object. He opened the letter first, and began to read:

_To Mr. Dib Membrane (we know that's not your last name, but we couldn't find the real one),_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Just kidding._

_You _have _been selected as a nominee in the 224th__ annual, Heroes of the Anti-Irken Resistance _(H.A.I.R.) _awards. The ceremony is being hosted on planet Introa, and will begin in approximately a week of your time. We apologize that we could not have warned you earlier, but we were unable to, with your remote location. The Heroes of the Anti-Irken Resistance Special People Receiving Awards Yrillers _(H.A.I.R.-S.P.R.A.Y.) _only recently added you to the list. (Yrillers are the species in charge of selecting the nominees)._

_Simply activate the signal box in the package, and our ship will pick you up. Be sure to pack your own clothing. Food will be provided. Portable restrooms are not necessary. You can activate the signal any time you are ready, though the latest you can use it is 24 hours before the awards._

_We hope to see you there!_

The signature at the bottom was written in an incomprehensible alien script. Below this was the English translation:

_---Naida Entorro _

_N-labs head researcher, Head of H.A.I.R. awards Introan planning committee. _

_P.S. I hoped you liked the reference to human culture. I had to sample Earth literature a bit to make sure I wouldn't offend._

Dib sat there, in stunned silence. He read the letter over a few times, letting it sink in.

A wide grin settled on his face: He was going into _space_! He would be able to meet _aiens _that_ didn't want to kill him_! Portable restroom were _not necessary_!

He had to get ready! Dib ran upstairs and dug his suitcase out of the closet. He quickly began to pile stuff in: His clothes, his camera, his laptop, his backup camera, some film, more film…

As he worked, excitement built in his chest. He couldn't believe would be people who put up with what he did! People who knew what it was like to have to fight the Irkens day in and day out! People who would provide him with restrooms! (He kept thinking about that restroom part).

After he was packed, he quickly sent a message to the Swollen Eyeball Network. He scribbled a note to his father, saying that he had gone to summer camp, and wouldn't be back until the 18th.

He ran out the door, carrying the package with him. He yelled back over his shoulder, "Gaz, I'm going into space! I'll be back in a week!"

Gaz merely grunted, and didn't look up from her game.

* * *

Zim was watching Dib out on his front lawn. He appeared to be fiddling with some strange device, grinning all the time. He was obviously sending a transmission, but to who?

Zim turned around and looked at GIR, who was fiddling with a hot dog.

"GIR!" Zim said, "Radio mode!"

GIR snapped into duty mode for a second, gave Zim a quick salute, then simply froze there, his mouth projecting noise he picked up. Zim twisted GIR's eyes to adjust the frequency: Nothing-commercial-commercial-nothing-eerie high-frequency noises-nothing-commercial…

While Zim, having completely ignored the right signal, fiddled with GIR, a spaceship descended into the atmosphere. Within a few minutes it was floating above Dib's head, and extending a ramp down to the ground.

Zim growled, as a sudden burst of static drowned out everything else on the radio, and looked up, just in time to see Dib board a spaceship, which took off.

He stared at the sky, mouth agape, before regaining his composure and marching home. He didn't know why the Dib-beast was leaving, but he was going to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Dib sat in a small, white room, filled with alien technology and that septic smell of clinics and hospitals. Standing next to him was a short chrome little robot mounted on a tripod, scanning him with it's wide eyes.

"Sir?"

Dib stopped staring at a holographic model of his digestive system, and turned towards his 'doctor'.

"Though we can download the Methi language pack, we have detected a slight… oddity. Your body already contains the necessary microscopic robots necessary to download the knowledge. They'll work just fine, but they seem to have been put in a few months ago." The robot droned, oblivious to Dib's startled reaction. A few months ago? The only thing that could possibly explain this was his psychological interview with Scly (who was apparently concerned that humans might go on a rampage of destruction, and had to run some tests).

But that would mean… Were these the _same_ aliens as last time?

"Um…" Dib began, unsure of how to address the robot.

"NL-NZ-42-8734," The robot filled in. "Just NZ to patients."

"Yeah… Is there anyone you know of on the human psychological analysis team named Scly?"

MA would have arched an eyebrow, had it had one. "High Councilor Evcoth did do the evaluations on the species found on Earth. And of course I know him, he designed me."

"He did?"

The robot suddenly extended it's legs, becoming six feet higher. Patches of MA's body that appeared to be normal parts of it's frame suddenly pushed outwards, turning into extra arms. Finally, it's front panel dropped downwards, and MA pointed at a symbol engraved on a large grey power cell that took up most of it's internal space. "He also programmed all NL-MAs to show off." It added, in a slightly smug monotone.

Dib merely nodded.

"Anyways," MA continued, "Time to download the language pack. You might want to lie down."

Dib did so, wondering why he should. He got his answer almost immediately: He would have fallen over otherwise.

A huge rush of electricity jumped through his brain, creating and strengthening bonds in his synapses, implanting memories in his brain that were not his own. What he perceived was losing his vision to a wave of flashes, and a torrent of information rushing through his mind that stopped all capability of thought. If he concentrated, he could pick up a few distinct snippets of information: _Twiwip_: Hello-_Tlliwybiv_: Goodbye-_Tivigblifiilliglifiglunibgilrovig!_: Get your foot out of my toilet!

Why there was only one word for such a complicated concept was lost on Dib, who was learning how to express that he didn't want another Ink beast, thank you very much.

This lasted for the better part of four seconds, and then it stopped.

The robot walked over to it's stunned patient, and said, "The download is done sir."

Dib, who felt rather ticked off at the robot, said, "I noticed."

"Good for you, sir. If you would like to move up to the observation deck, you can view the _Victory_ as we approach."

Dib, thoroughly sick of the little robot, walked onto the deck, and tried as hard as he could to ignore the screams of, "Run, it's a Sloooroxoplian Swollen-head monster!"

As the crew attempted to calm down the frightened passengers, Dib stared at the massive object looming up before them. In space, there are usually few objects that you can use as a reference size-wise, but somehow, Dib just knew this thing was _big_ (that, and the fact that several asteroids had fallen into new orbits around it).

Had he looked it up, he would have found that the enormous, gleaming white object was over 2,112,000 feet long, and 352,000 feet wide. The oval shape body, whose front ended in a shallow crater, made up two-thirds of the length, while three enormous, slightly curving struts made up the rest. Dib wondered at the purpose of these claw-like protrusions, until a crew member asked him to sit down until they docked.

They moved swiftly towards the ship, sweeping upwards until they found a small hanger on the top side. Their ship descended into the hangar, and for a second, Dib felt twice as heavy as both ships pulled down on him with artificial gravity.

The feeling quickly subsided, and he walked into the now pressurized boarding area. He was shown to a row of elevator-like objects, which began to take him into the heart of the massive ship. They stopped in a completely normal hallway, and his small robotic escort led him down the soft white walls to his room. As he looked down the soft white corridor that stretched beyond his vision, he suddenly had the sickening realization of how easy it would be to get lost in here. His guide stopped at his room, and asked if he needed anything else.

"No, thank you." He said, then realized he had slipped into the alien language.

"Dinner is in two hours, sir."

"Yeah… wake me up in an hour and a half. I'm going to take a nap."

The robot nodded, then turned his head to look straight forward.

Dib walked into the room, which had been equipped with human furniture. Overwhelmed by the utter strangeness of his situation, he sunk into sleep, and dreamt of aliens, robots, and GIR brandishing beef jerky.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, another chapter done. I was a little disappointed with the number of reviews I got last time, so if you read this, LEAVE A REVIEW. If I don't get enough every chapter, I'll just stop posting.


	3. Chapter 3

The observation deck was a large, oval, well furnished room. Above the diner's heads was a clear dome that gave them a panoramic view of the Galactic core. Billions of stars moved imperceptibly slowly in their stately dance around the center. Brilliant supernovae shone on for millions of years at a time, while strange distortions of light indicated black holes, one of whom they were orbiting (at a safe distance) now. A black sphere sat at the center of a spinning disk of matter and energy, pulling it into it's dense core. Off to the left, the gaseous outer atmosphere of a small star was being sucked away into it's former binary-star system partner.

Dib wasn't really paying attention.

Stretched out before him were dozens of buffet tables, one for every species on board, and was determined to sample interstellar cuisine in the name of science. Though robotic guards stopped him from sampling the more dangerous foods, Dib piled his plate with something from every table.

Eventually, after much sampling, he made a meal of a leafy salad from the Aurus table (which he discarded once he found out it was full of insects), a heavily-seasoned and over-sized steak from the Introi table, and a bag of Vort-dogs.

As he was eating a Vort-dog, and trying to explain the concept of hamburger buns to a few aliens at the human table, a familiar voice called out at him, "Dib!"

Dib turned around, and saw an Introi approaching him. At first he didn't recognize the alien, but then he began to notice a few distinguishing features of the alien: Eye color, scale shape, wing length. A broad grin settled on his face, as he called back, "Scly!"

Dib's happy reaction was just as much seeing someone familiar as it was seeing Scly in particular (they had talked with each other for a grand total of twenty minutes), but Scly began chatting as if they were old friends:

"So, I tried some of your earth foods and I thought 'Gee, this is a little bland', but then I tried this 'co-ca-co-la,'" Here he slowed down, stumbling a bit over the unfamiliar sounds, "and wow, is it great! I just can't get enough of it, it's so good! What's the recipe? Do you like it? Is it very popular? How'd they get it all bubbly? Why-"

"Scly," Dib said, "How many glasses of soda did you have?"

"Oh, four…eight… I forget."

"It's not that good for you…"

"What!? Of course it is! Oh, right, you're a human. Well, our biochemistry revolves around a chemical that's very easy to make from caffeine, so we're all born with a natural addiction to it, so it's actually very good for us! Did you know…" And he was off again.

Though the subjects he monopolized would have been ludicrously boring to another alien, Dib soaked up every word. Every feature of alien technology was explained in explicit detail, and every explicit detail was explicitly repeated: "Our faster than light travel revolves around concentrating enough energy into one spot to tear a hole in space-time, then slipping into it and making your own wormhole, but the people in your galaxy use tachyons, and that's a whole other kettle of fish…"

Eventually, dinner was over, and Scly had to return to the bridge. The guests stayed on the observation deck, while an announcement came over the speaker system.

"Attention all passengers, we will begin superluminal travel momentarily. We will be taking advantage of the massive black hole in the galactic core to jump to our destination. Though it is approximately 62 million light-years away, by using a powerful black hole as one end of our wormhole, we can make the journey easily. There will be some slight shaking, and the view of the inside of the wormhole may make some passengers sick. If you wish to curse the crew for planning the jump just after dinner, please feel free to do so. Thank you."

The observation deck was placed in a huge dome set in the center of the crater at the front of the ship. This dome contained the bridge, the most important personnel's bedrooms, as well as the gravitationally altered observation deck. As soon as all the dishes had been cleared by robotic attendants, the gravity in the room rotated ninety degrees, so that the walls became the ceiling and floor. Their seats rotated with the gravity, facing their occupants towards the glass dome. The massive ship rotated, and then the galactic core came into view, a monster that made the one they had been watching look like a drain. Millions of times larger than the relatively puny stars it swallowed whole, just looking at it gave Dib chills. A few bright flashes shot between the massive prongs at the front of the spaceship, then-

* * *

Zim stared, mouth hanging open at the spot where his quarry had just been. Did they just fly into a _black hole_!?

"C-Computer… Where did that ship go?"

"The ship appears to have entered a wormhole in the black hole."

"Where does it lead?"

"I don't know. The ship appears to be creating it as they go along."

Zim leaned back, utterly confused. This was technology he'd never heard of. Wormholes were rare, and creating them was the most ridiculous idea he'd ever heard of. And yet they were doing it…

Behind him, GIR was having a completely unintelligible conversation with Minimoose about the philosophical implications of cloning prunes.

"Sir," The computer said, "If you want to pursue, the wormhole will close soon. We should act quickly."

Zim closed his eyes to think it over. He had no way of going back, and Dib's absence could be useful, but… The possibility of Dib returning with an alien army was to much to risk. He pushed forward on the accelerator and-

* * *

Dib stared at the wonders of the strange distortion they were traveling through. He could dimly see, through the strange purple walls of the tunnel, countless stars whipping past them. Mixed with these were the fantastic parts of four-dimensional objects that his three-dimensional mind could perceive. They were somewhere in the middle, the 3.5th dimension, or something (more accurately, the 3.86th).

The voice came back over the speakers, "We will be coming out of the wormhole soon. We will initiate another jump to bring ourselves to he Mohara system, our destination. Estimated time of arrival: 20 minutes."

Another flash erupted between the prongs, and Dib was greeted with an even more astounding sight.

Outside the window, seeming so close he could touch it, stretched a vast, beautiful spiral galaxy. His robotic attendant said, "I believe your people know the Natra Galaxy as NGC 1300, sir."

Natra: The Methi (Introi) word for star or stars. Dib was too absorbed in the spectacle before him to answer.

They jumped again, pulling out in a system with an ordinary yellow star. What wasn't ordinary was the planets: One was entirely green (an agricultural planet, according to the robot), the outermost one was covered with tall towers (a military center), and the one in the middle was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of smaller spaceships.

Orb No.2 was their destination, the planet Introa: Homeworld of the Introi, and capital of the empire that would challenge the Irkens.

"It isn't really a stereotypical galactic empire," the robot explained as they boarded a shuttle that would take them to Introa's space-elevator/space station, "The Natrian Empire has grown mainly through colonization, and planets joining us. The word 'empire' only means a group of territories under a single authority."

As they rode down to the planet in one of the elevators, Dib looked at the geology of the world: Introa's southern hemisphere was dominated by a massive continent, similar to Antarctica, only larger. The northern hemisphere had a few smaller continents, but the feature that really caught Dib's attention were the mammoth chasms riddling the southern continent, branching out from a huge meteor crater at the south pole. Their ride was taking them down into one of these chasms, set in the middle of a very large area of grassland, ringed by mountains on one side, and the sea on the other.

"The Nyor valley…" Said Scly, who was obviously excited to be back, "The M'lez chasm… And Plyn City… I'm home…"

Dib looked down, and saw that there was a massive city, built in the chasm cutting through the valley. Well, it certainly looked like an interesting place to spend a week…

* * *

Author's note: Alright, we're doing a little better on the reviews, but I still expect a lot more. If I don't get at least four more reviews, the story stops. DON'T JUST THINK SOMEONE ELESE WILL DO IT!

For those of you who are wondering, there really is a NGC 1300 (they have a really good picture of it on Wikipedia).


	4. Chapter 4

If Plyn City were to be compared to any earthly cities, they would be Tokyo, for sheer size and technological focus; Paris, for the history and obsession with food; and New York city, for the financial and commercial hubs it contained.

For the reader who hasn't been to those cities: It was big, crowded, sprinkled with more restaurants than the entirety of North America, and very bright. Lights and signs illuminated the chasm from it's upper rim to it's swamp-like base, and aliens of myriad species swarmed in it's streets. All in all, over 846 million beings called Plyn City's 496 floors home.

Of course, it really isn't fair to talk about the atmosphere of the city without talking about what the actual atmosphere was like: Very hot, very humid, and very windy. When Dib had first gotten off the elevator, he had immediately began to sweat, and didn't know if he could tolerate Introa for any period of time. When he had stepped out of the sheltered area around the elevator, he discovered the winds, whose cooling effects made the chasm almost comfortable.

Scly was simply ecstatic, proudly showing off the wonders of his hometown to Dib, who was simply following his unofficial travel guide from restaurant to restaurant. After a three course dinner that had been partially imported from the planet Lemaxa (where, apparently, a heavily salted soup of nutrients qualified as a delicacy), Scly took Dib to some of the city's other attractions: A genetic engineering fair that Scly himself had made a healthy contribution to; The city zoo, where you could see enormous one-legged spiders and octopi whose tentacles forked every four feet, and the Corono stadium (Corono was a sport like hockey and lacrosse, except it was played on water).

As far as Dib was concerned, this planet was a paradise.

* * *

As far as Zim was concerned, this was planet was a nightmare.

He had landed the Voot Cruiser on one of the Nyor Mountains' many volcanoes, and had at first rather liked the planet's dry, hot atmosphere, which reminded him of planet Irk's deserts. But as he descended into the thick forests, and eventually jungles that separated the mountain slope from the valley, the humidity increased. Though it wasn't concentrated enough to make him start burning immediately, by the time he stepped out of the jungle and gazed at the vast, river strewn Nyor valley, the cradle of Introi civilization, he had a horrible rash.

GIR was having a great time, riding Minimoose through the trees, birds nests, and salivating predatory mouths, screaming "I'm a cowboy! Look at mah potaters! LOOK AT 'EM!"

Zim, cursing the security officer that had stopped him from landing anywhere near the city, extended his PAK legs, and dashed madly for the far-off glimmers of air-conditioned civilization.

* * *

Dib spent the next week learning about the culture, history, and snack bar based economies (apparently the Ultrabar was used instead of the gold standard in a few obscure civilizations) of the galaxy, while Zim spent it by being irritated and rubbing salt on his skin. By the time Zim had finally caught up with Dib, the HAIR awards were beginning.

The ceremony was held in a private building, in one of the smaller chasms that branched away from the main city. It was a smaller building, filled with tables, nominees, and strange, inverted-raindrop shaped whitish objects on the walls that no one could identify. After a quick dinner (which, according to the Introi, called for at least two appetizers, three main courses, and five desserts), the lights dimmed, and a Introi walked up on stage.

"Two hundred and twenty four years ago," The Introi, who had identified herself as the same Naida Entorro that had written the letter, said, "Tallest Vio of the Irken Empire used the Control Brains and his citizens' PAKs to seize control of the Irken Empire, through brainwashing and propaganda. Using this undivided, fanatical loyalty, he began a war of conquest against every other species in the galaxy, and eventually, every species in the universe they encountered. Immediately after this, people began to oppose his efforts: A few Irkens broke free of his control and began to fight against the corrupted Empire. Through the terrors of war, heroes were made, but there was no way to honor them Partly to do this, partly to raise morale, and partly just to spite their oppressors, they created the Heroes of the Anti-Irken Resistance awards ceremony… Ladies, gentlemen, and gender-neutral aliens, I welcome you to the two hundred and twenty fourth HAIR awards! Sponsored by the Ultrabar corporation."

At this point, the attendees began to clap and cheer furiously, even for the Ultrabar corporation, which had been sponsoring the event since it's inception. As the complimentary candy bars were distributed, the first winners were called up to the stage:

"First we have the HAIR who has done the most damage to the Irken Empire. The hero who has given our enemies the most split ends," Here she paused for the laughter, "Captain Lard Nar of the Resisty!"

Amidst clapping (and cheers of "RESISTY ROCKS!"), a Vortian walked up to the stage, shook hands with Naida, accepted the award, and answered the crowds question of "Why call it the 'Resisty'?"

As the award was presented to this year's oldest anti-Irken fighter (the grey HAIR), Zim was quietly breaking into the building. His complete lack of skill, as well as GIR's antics, got him noticed by security quite a few times, but they allowed him to believe he had gone unnoticed.

He found the air vent directly above the stage, pushed through, and fell in front of the surprised crowd.


	5. Chapter 5

After presenting the award to this year's best double agent (the curly HAIR), Naida announced that they would not be awarding Ferr Dqiu this year's 'biggest-pain-in-the-general-Irken-backside' award, on account of his retirement from throwing eggs at the _Massive_.

"Instead, we will present the award to a very special individual, who has caused the Tallests unparalleled levels of frustration. This year's biggest annoyance to the Irken Empire is-"

Zim fell from an air vent, and landed next to Naida.

Several things happened at once: some guests screamed, thinking the Irkens had finally found them, some jumped out of their seats, and grabbed their silverware for weapons, and the hall's security came online.

Instantly, the strange objects pushed off of the wall, unfolded weaponry and robotic legs, landed with cat-like ease on the ground, and focused their lasers on Zim, who stood there, utterly confused by this turn of events.

Naida, however, knew what was going on, and finished her sentence: "-Invader Zim!"

An unseen band began to play a lively rendition of the _Invader's March_, and Dib realized what was going on. The Introi had known all along that Zim was infiltrating the ceremony, and had set up the security system and timing of the awards to deal Zim the ultimate insult: Hailing him as one of their own.

The crowd, having come to the same conclusion, clapped as Naida presented him the award, and shook his hand, then continued , "Zim has been the biggest annoyance to the Tallests, and the rest of the Irken Empire, for months now. He has eaten up hours of their productive time, slowing down the entire crew of the _Massive_. Let's see some footage of Zim, shall we?"

The wall behind Zim slid apart to reveal a giant screen. It showed static for a second, and then a few choice clips of Zim played: "I'm in a bear suit!", from the day when, indeed, he was in a bear suit-"I will roll the planet over the face of the Earth, squishing all life!", from the time he had taken control of the planet/spaceship Mars-The day his energy-absorbing blob had eaten Tallest Miyuki-The day he had shut off all power on Irk for five years…

Zim, who had finally figured out what was going on, winced at each clip. When the crowd began their cheers of "Zim, our hero!", his antennae drooped to his scalp, acknowledging he had been beaten. This admission from Zim was so incredible, that Dib nearly fell out of his seat in surprise. Zim was escorted back to his seat by a few robots. Dib could see his face darkening to a deep green in humiliation, and waved, just to let him know he was there. Zim noticed, and sunk even lower into his seat.

"Well, now that that humiliation is over, it's time to move on to the final award!" Naida said brightly.

"The final HAIR award goes to the most valiant, fearless, and persistent anti-Irken warrior. Someone who has put up with the worst danger, withstood the brunt of Irken invasion, and survived long enough to receive their award. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the HAIR of the year…"

Dib leaned forward in his seat, along with the rest of the excited crowd. Naida, however, looked confused, "Huh… no last name… oh, yeah, _him_… Dib Membrane!" She called, using the same last name as last time.

A spotlight swung over to Dib, and the rest of the crowd clapped and cheered. Numb, Dib walked up to the podium, and accepted the award.

"Well, I, uh, don't know what to say… I didn't except to get anything… I, mean, I've only managed to stalemate Zim."

"Yes," Naida said, "But the award for doing the most was given to Captain Lard Nar. You received this award because not only did you fight an alien invasion, you did so with vastly inferior technology, and a species that didn't support you. Dib, you have fought off an alien invasion without any help from your own kind. In fact, their cries of 'crazy' must have hurt more than they helped. You have fought off an Irken Invader in some of the worst circumstances imaginable, and that is why you are our 224th HAIR of the year!" The crowd erupted into cheering, and Dib basked in the glow of admiration for a few minutes.

"Now, Dib, as Zim's enemy, it's up to you to decide what we do with him. Let him go, or keep him prisoner. Which one will it be? Remember, we plan to invade the Empire in a few months…"

Zim sat up straighter in his seat. Why would the let him go? And why would they let him know the were going to invade?

"Well, Zim," Dib said, a malicious look on his face, "I would like very much to see you rot in prison one day, but I'd like even more to see you desperately try to warn the Tallest of the coming alien invasion. You've seen their navy, you know their coming, and you and I know they won't believe you. Zim, the tables have officially turned!"

The crowd cheered some more, and Dib walked back to his seat. However the night's entertainment was not done.

Scly walked onto the stage, carrying a rectangular object under his arm. "If I may," He said, "There's one more thing I would like to show you all."

He held up the object, which was apparently some kind of book, and the screen displayed it's title:

The Irken PAK codebook.

Zim leapt out of his seat, and charged towards the stage. He didn't care that he would be shot down before he got there, he didn't care that it was pointless. He had to get that back.

No laser burst caught him, however. Instead Scly grinned, and pressed a button on the award podium.

A hidden transmitter beamed a signal at his PAK, ordering it to knock him out. Zim landed on the floor, unable to do anything. He sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

Zim awoke on the couch in his base. He looked around. GIR was sleeping on top of Minimoose, sucking his foot. Had it all been a dream?

Then Zim noticed a picture sitting on his lap. It was a picture of him, after he had been knocked out, and Dib, who had an arm on Zim's shoulders and was grinning like they were best friends. Zim's eyes widened.

"Computer, call the Tallest!"


End file.
